the flagship of amtrak?

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

BrianPR3

Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
112
Location
Orignally NYC but in florida
just curious what is the train that is the barer of the "flagship" label like when British Airways had concorde in it's fleet that was the standard barer so which train is it?

what say you guys?
 
Amtrak seems to treat the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, and Capitol Limited best with enhanced amenties. Unfortunately the EB and CS are both frequently late. The CL is pretty on-time though, and offers convenient overnight service on the Washington-Chicago route, so it's actually used by some business travellers in a Roomette.
 
Which train has a heritage Pacific Parlor Car?

Which train has "Enhanced Service" with real china in Dining Car?

Which train has extra amenities like welcome champagne for sleeper passengers, and wine and cheese tasting onboard?

The answer that satisfies all these questions, is the Flagship train of Amtrak :)
 
I agree that the Coast Starlight is Amtrak's premier long-distance train.

For all the reasons Texas Sunset listed above plus, I think Amtrak is especially proud of the Starlight because it's a route that they created (no freight railroad ran a direct LA-Seattle train.)

But of all the trains Amtrak operates... the Acela Express is the flagship... hands down.

There's actually a lot of similarities to the Concorde service... passengers have their own departure lounge, there's no coach seats offered and its priced at a premium (because the people who ride often aren't buying or paying for their tickets, they've got "people" to do that for them!) Not to mention, Amtrak does whatever it can to make the Acela run on time (even if it means delaying other trains).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree that the Coast Starlight is Amtrak's premier long-distance train.
For all the reasons Texas Sunset listed above plus, I think Amtrak is especially proud of the Starlight because it's a route that they created (no freight railroad ran a direct LA-Seattle train.)

But of all the trains Amtrak operates... the Acela Express is the flagship... hands down.

There's actually a lot of similarities to the Concorde service... passengers have their own departure lounge, there's no coach seats offered and its priced at a premium (because the people who ride often aren't buying or paying for their tickets, they've got "people" to do that for them!) Not to mention, Amtrak does whatever it can to make the Acela run on time (even if it means delaying other trains).
agree. cs premiere ld train. acela= flagship
 
The SWC used to be one until the track in kansas and colorado had to downgraded making timekeeping hard. Also the Chief is ow Amtrak second worse money loser. Maybe when the train is rerounted the transcontinental the train will quit be a loser.
 
I'll Vote 4 Times! (Something I learned in Chicago! :giggle: )

Flagship= Acela

Premiere= Coast Starlight

Long Dist= Auto Train

Should Be= California Zephyr
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Given that the current paint scheme for Amtrak's locomotives is derived from the Acela (so people will associate other trains with it, I guess), I would also say Acela is Amtrak's flagship train.
 
I would agree that Acela is the flagship. Plus that is the only train with first class, as sleeper travel is "sleeper class" and no longer "first class".
 
The Coast Starlight is Amtraks Flagship Long Distance train. It's the only train in North America that offers 2 different dining experiences to sleeping car passengers.

In addition to the parlor car service, the complimentary welcome champagne, the complimentary wine and cheese tasting, and the enhanced dining car the Coast Starlight has the best scenery of any LD train in North America. What other train offers mountains, the ocean, rivers, battleships, the Golden Gate Bridge, wetlands, and vineyards? I mean the action never stops.

I will say as a disclaimer... The Zephyr offers the most spectacular scenery in North America... It's track through the Rockies is unbeatable... But the train as a whole is not as scenic as the starlight.

Obviously the scenery is just my opinion... But Amtrak certainly treats the Starlight better than any other train.

I agree that Acela is "flagship" too. That's pretty obvious.
 
While Amtrak will not say which train is their 'flagship', I agree that the 'defacto' flagship is the Acela Express, just as its predecessor Metroliner was in the decades prior. It is Amtraks showpiece, running mostly on Amtrak rails, and carrying many of the nation's 'mover's and shaker's among its influential passengers.

I am fairly certain its operating and financial performance is monitored much more closely by the top brass of Amtrak, than any other train(s) in the system.
 
I'd probably list the CZ as the most well known. It could probably be argued that if you stopped random people on the street and asked them to name an Amtrak train, they'd say the CZ.

peter
 
I'd probably list the CZ as the most well known. It could probably be argued that if you stopped random people on the street and asked them to name an Amtrak train, they'd say the CZ.
peter
Depends on which of the country you pick said random person from. For example I am very sure that very few random people on the street in the northeast even know what CZ is, or of its existence.
 
Or if you asked people on the street to just name a train. they'd probably reply with something like The Twentieth Century Limited (!), or The Orient Express...... ;)
 
I've lived in the mid-Atlantic most of my life & for as long as I could remember I've wanted to take the CZ. Finally got to do it in 2011, but only as far as Provo, UT.

Hope to do the rest some day to see the "other" mountains. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Amtrak seems to treat the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, and Capitol Limited best with enhanced amenties. Unfortunately the EB and CS are both frequently late. The CL is pretty on-time though, and offers convenient overnight service on the Washington-Chicago route, so it's actually used by some business travellers in a Roomette.
Um. CS #11, on time 90% over the last year; #14 on time 83% same period. CL #29: 74% on time, #30: 81%. The old canard about the "Coast Starlate" is just that: old, and a canard.

As for the poor ol' Empire Builder...#8 was only on time 31% over the last year. In June, 2013: 0%.
 
Amtrak seems to treat the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, and Capitol Limited best with enhanced amenties. Unfortunately the EB and CS are both frequently late. The CL is pretty on-time though, and offers convenient overnight service on the Washington-Chicago route, so it's actually used by some business travellers in a Roomette.
Um. CS #11, on time 90% over the last year; #14 on time 83% same period. CL #29: 74% on time, #30: 81%. The old canard about the "Coast Starlate" is just that: old, and a canard.

As for the poor ol' Empire Builder...#8 was only on time 31% over the last year. In June, 2013: 0%.
Yes, sorry about the mistake. The CS and CL both have decent OTP, I see. EB, once Amtrak's On-Timer, has got kicked in the dust by other LD trains.

Also of note, the well-touted CZ has OTP right on the 50% mark, and someone mentioned the SWC, that one is actually doing pretty good at 71.7% considering the poor track conditions.

These are just my observations from browing Amtrak's OTP page.
 
I've lived in the mid-Atlantic most of my life & for as long as I could remember I've wanted to take the CZ. Finally got to do it in 2011, but only as far as Provo, UT.Hope to do the rest some day to see the "other" mountains. :)
Being of the pre Amtrak generation I can assure you that in the old days the CZ would surely rank in the top five flag ship trains of the whole nation. That from almost any railfan.

It was among the first trains to use dome cars. It was well advertised in such publications as National Geographic.The majestic scenery was part of the appeal.. Referencing the domes, the ads urged us to, "Look up .look down and look all around."
 
I'd probably list the CZ as the most well known. It could probably be argued that if you stopped random people on the street and asked them to name an Amtrak train, they'd say the CZ.
peter
Depends on which of the country you pick said random person from. For example I am very sure that very few random people on the street in the northeast even know what CZ is, or of its existence.
Or the Acela, for that matter.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top